Sex, Spies and Scandal: The John Vassall Affair

John Vassall, a clerk at the Admiralty in London, was blackmailed into handing British defence secrets over to his Soviet handlers for seven years in 1962. This book sheds new light on a neglected spy scandal, with access to newly released MI5 files and interviews with people who knew Vassall. It is an explosive tale of sexual violence, betrayal, conspiracy, snobbery, homophobia, and hypocrisy that blows apart some of the British establishments darkest secrets.

Format: Hardback
Length: 464 pages
Publication date: 23 January 2024
Publisher: Biteback Publishing

In September 1962, a clerk at the Admiralty in London named John Vassall was unmasked as a Soviet spy. After being photographed in compromising positions while working at the British embassy in Moscow, Vassall was blackmailed into handing British defense secrets over to his Soviet handlers for seven years. While there have been several successful books and film adaptations about the Profumo, Jeremy Thorpe, and Duchess of Argyll affairs, the story of John Vassall, who was responsible for a more serious intelligence breach, is ripe for retelling. It has everything: a honey trap, industrial-scale espionage, journalists jailed for not revealing their sources, and the first modern tabloid witch-hunt, which resulted in a ministerial resignation and almost brought down Harold Macmillans government.

With access to newly released MI5 files and interviews with people who knew Vassall from the 1950s until his death in 1996, this book sheds new light on a neglected spy scandal. Despite having been drugged and sexually assaulted by the KGB in Moscow, as a gay man, John Vassall was shown no mercy by the British press or the courts. Sentenced to eighteen years in jail, he served ten years, despite telling MI5 everything. Once released, he found that many of his old friends and lovers had been persecuted or dismissed from the civil service in Britain, America, and Australia. Unlike the Cambridge Five, who courted attention, after leaving prison, Vassall changed his name to avoid the media and lived quietly in London.

Including atmospheric detail about Dolphin Square – a hotbed of political intrigue but also a safe haven for members of the LGBT community – in the 1950s and 60s, this is an explosive tale of sexual violence, betrayal, conspiracy, snobbery, homophobia, and hypocrisy that blows apart some.

Weight: 586g
Dimension: 162 x 242 x 116 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781785907883